Monday, March 10, 2014

Hot Box Monday

A Bug in Writing

Y'all know I love editing. I enjoy helping others bring their baby to a polished life. Over the weekend I edited a great manuscript by a great writer friend. She's not published yet, but I'm sure she'll be popping open the champagne any day now. I found some common mistakes in her work. As much as I despise them, and I'm sure all writers do, these sneaky bastards find their way into every story.

What are these roach-like bugs? If you see one, you know there must be a hundred more lurking...

1. Fancy words. Think about our every day speech and the conversations we have with people. Writing proper grammar doesn't mean writing uptight language. A reputable writer once told me, "Less is more. Simple is best." So true...

2. Each paragraph must connect to the next, but a new thought deserves a new paragraph. When I first fishtailed my way into writing, I wanted to write long paragraphs. Long paragraphs have their place in books, but my opinion, as a reader and a writer, shorties flow better.

3. Make assumption (no) Assume (yes)
Is a function of (no) Depends on (yes)
Is an illustration (no) Illustrates (yes)